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Ministry of Jal Shakti
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Awards for Water Conservation
Water being a State subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments with the technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes of Central Government. Various steps taken by the Government for water conservation are as below:
- National Water Policy  advocates conservation, promotion and protection of water.
- In rural areas, Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme  is major scheme driving water conservation and water harvesting efforts.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs  implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation  in municipal areas which inter-alia includes water source conservation as one of the project component.
- Unified Building Bye Laws  of Delhi, 2016, Model Building Bye Laws , 2016 and Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation  Guidelines, 2014 has been formulated with adequate focus on water conservation measures.
- Master Plan for Artificial Recharge to Groundwater- 2020 has been prepared by Central Ground Water Board with the objective of construction of rain water harvesting structures thus promoting water conservation.
- A Model Bill has been circulated to all the States/UTs to enable them to enact suitable ground water legislation aimed at water conservation. So far, 19 States/UTs have adopted and implemented the ground water legislation.
- States/ UTs have been advised to enable Rural Local Bodies / Panchayats to utilise 15th Finance Commissions grants to take up rain water harvesting in Government buildings like panchayat, bhawans, anganwadis, Primary Health Centres etc.
- Central Ground Water Authority  has issued directives to all States/UTs to take measures to promote/adopt artificial recharge to ground water /rain water harvesting. It grants permits for use of ground water with mandatory conditions for conservation, augmentation and efficient use of ground water.
- Ministry of Jal Shakti has been implementing various schemes/ campaigns for promoting water conservation which includes Jal Shakti Abhiyan-2019, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch The Rain–2021, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana , Atal Bhujal Yojana, National Aquifer Mapping and Management  etc.
- Ministry of Jal Shakti organizes workshops and webinars to stimulate awareness, build capacities of stakeholders and encourage people to become active participants in conservation of water. Besides, regular training programmes are also held for capacity building and awareness creation of stakeholders on various aspects of water conservation and rainwater harvesting. In addition, mass awareness programmes are conducted from time to time each year under the Information, Education & Communication  Scheme in various parts of the country to promote rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge of groundwater.
The First National Awards  were launched in 2018, the second series of National Awards was given on 01.09.2019 and third series of National Water Awards was given on 10.12.2020. The awards are focused on recognizing good work and efforts by individuals and organisations and to create awareness among people about importance of water including water conservation. Criteria for third NWAs is annexed.
This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.